Dehydrating those summer fruits and veggies

We've reached that point in the summer where the produce is abundant and cheap.  You just can't help but buy more than you could possibly eat before it goes bad.  I'm guilty of this, too.  We've got this neighborhood food warehouse that has an agreement with local restaurant suppliers to buy the overstock items.  Every Saturday they open up a special section of the warehouse that is full of produce.  I picked up a flat (8 one pound cartons) of strawberries for $3!  I love strawberries but I can't eat that many!  What's a savvy buyer to do?  Well, after giving away a couple of cartons I came home and prepped the rest for dehydrating.

Dehydrating fruits and vegetables is actually pretty easy.  You could use your oven but that's hot and I'm not comfortable leaving it on if I'm going to be away from the house.  

The other way to do it is to buy a food dehydrator.  I picked this one up a couple of years ago at Aldi for $20, but sporting good stores that specialize in camping and hunting items are also good places to shop.

It's not very fancy.  In fact, there's only one setting:  on/off.  That's all I need!

Start by washing and prepping your fruit or vegetable.  (I'll be referring to strawberries from this point forward, but think of the possibilities:  zucchini, potatoes, oranges...)

Wash and dry them.

Gorgeous!

After I remove the stems I use an egg slicer on the finest setting.  This cuts them into uniform pieces that aren't too thick to thoroughly dry.

Here's a peek at my process:  de-stem, cut, and spread out on the dehydrator tray.  You want to make sure that they aren't touching but you don't need to leave too much room between them.

Keep going until you've filled up all of the trays.

Put the lid on and plug it in.  I like to leave the vent on what I call "halfway" so it is somewhere between the two vent options.

I started the dehydrator at about 9:30 last night.  When I got up this morning I rotated the trays so the lower ones, which had been closer to the heating element all night, were shifted to the top.  This allows all of the slices to have a chance at getting fully dehydrated.

Here's what it should look like when they're "ready."  I unplugged the machine sometime this evening when I started to make dinner.

The only thing left to do once you've unplugged the machine is carefully peel them off the racks.  You'll probably come across some thicker ones that still feel a little mushy to the touch.  That's okay--eat those first!  Don't put them in your storage container and you won't have to worry about mold.

In the next day or two I plan to make homemade granola and mix in some dried strawberries.  It's delicious in a bowl of milk because the tartness of the strawberries is the perfect compliment to the sweet granola I like to make.

What will you dehydrate?

Adi

Food Travels, Spring 2015 Edition (Austin and Palm Springs)

I traveled a little bit back in the spring and snapped some photos of my favorite foods along the way.  Consider this your quick guide to eating your way through Austin and Palm Springs!

Austin, TX
I've posted about food in Austin before, but I tried a new place this time that I can' wait to try again the next time I'm down there!  I was in the south part of town and found a place called Jack Allen's Kitchen, which I hear was founded by the guy of Z Tejas fame.  All I know is that it was DELICIOUS!

Each entree comes with housemade crisps and pimento cheese:

I ordered the crispy salmon.  It's not deep fried like the name would suggest; rather, it is seared so well that the inside remains flaky and perfect while the outside takes on a nice, crispy texture.

As good as the fish was (as well as the accompanying tomatillo sauce!) the real star of the show was the crab/microgreen/tomato salad.  They say they're a locally sourced restaurant and you could tell.  The tomatoes were so fresh, the crab was plentiful, and whatever sauce they used to bind it all together was heavenly.  (I've been told it was a Russian dressing but I'm only familiar with the red kind so I haven't figured this one out yet.)


Palm Springs
There's really only one name you need to know:  Sherman's.  This little deli is located along one of the main streets of town and is ALWAYS packed.

You can't go wrong with pastrami or corned beef, but I definitely recommend you split it with a friend.  Look at the size of my half!

Their dessert case is unreal.  I got a slice of the chocolate bombe and I finished about half of my slice before giving in.  I sincerely regret forgetting the rest of it was in the hotel fridge because I would have had it for breakfast the next day!  It was incredible!

Thanks for joining me as I remembered my favorite on-the-road foods and treats.  If you'll excuse me, I need to go find some chocolate cake!

Adi

Pin Fails!

I don't know about you, but I like to keep a Pinterest board called "Pin Fails."  It's a good reminder to myself to not try stuff again, and a good warning for my friends so they can avoid impending DOOM!

Here's a peek at what I've tried and now consider to be "fails:"

"Healthy" Pancakes



"1 banana + 2 eggs = pancakes!" the description promises.  When you consider that there are only those two ingredients, they will not magically taste like pancakes.  These are banana-flavored eggs, people.  Adding "healthy" or "clean" to an old favorite like "pancakes" does not make it okay.

Hot Buttered Cheerios



Okay, so strike 1 is my fault:  I don't actually like Cheerios.  Since I can't seem to handle popcorn I'm always on the lookout for a good substitute, and this seemed promising.  Cheerios are pretty neutral, and all you're adding is butter.  How bad could it be?  It was hot buttered cardboard bad.  Like, there's a reason you haven't seen this recipe again since 1982 bad.  Just don't even go there.

Crock-pot Steak and Potatoes



Ah, the working person's dream:  a perfectly cooked dinner waiting for you when you get home.  If only!  This was a complete disaster.  The steaks were tough and dry, and the potatoes burned.  I don't even remember how the corn turned out because the rest of it was such a disaster.  AVOID!

...and...for dessert...

Chocolate Mousse Shots



Awww, this one had such potential!  I like chocolate and coconut--this should have been great!  Should have been...but wasn't.  It was so bitter and just tasted like it was trying to be something it wasn't.  I think I'll rename them "chocolate impostor shots."

This post was all in fun, because, let's face it--we all have disaster-in-the-kitchen stories.  The difference is that most of us don't share them online for the world to see.  I say if they're out there, they're fair game.

What are some Pins that you've tried that have gone horribly, hilariously wrong?

Adi

My Top 10 Pinterest Food Faves

I wanted to share some of my favorite Pinterest food finds.  These are ones I've tested and love!  You can click on the name of each recipe and it will take you to the link.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Peppermint Whipped Cream



Easy Pad Thai



Homemade Cheez-Its



Lemon Chicken Romano



Spicy Sriracha Ramern Soup



Tomato Basil Soup



Sour Patch Grapes



Summer Vegetable Tian



Berry Clafouti



Cherry'O Cream Pie (Maw-Maw's recipe!)



Go make something yummy this weekend (and share your favorite Pinterest recipe links in the comments)!

Adi

Graduation Party Ideas

Last week I received an invitation to my cousin's high school graduation.  Is she seriously that old?  I wasn't too far from my own high school graduation when she was born, and since I'm still 21 in my own mind that means she's definitely not old enough to graduate...

It seemed like a good time to post about some of my favorite ideas for a graduation party.  I joined Pinterest after my last grad school final (the carrot at the end of the final-master's-course-stick, if you will).  My own party was the first thing Pinterest ever helped me plan, and I used it to help with my little sister's graduation from the same school a few years later, too.  A lot of the ideas are blue and gold, but of course you can adapt these ideas for your own mascots and color schemes.

We had the party at my house and I kinda regret doing that.  My mother-in-law had offered to host it for me but since I was graduating in December I turned our annual Christmas party into a graduation party.  Between finals, graduating, and hosting, it turned out to be a bit much and by about 9:30 I was ready for everyone to go home so I could go to sleep.  I am SUCH a party animal.

My mom made me a cool cake with my school's logo on the top.  I loved it!

I made sugar cookies with sparkly icing showing the school nickname and year.  These keep well so I was able to make this ahead of time, which was helpful since the party was the same day I graduated!

These "diplomas" are actually those Pepperidge Farm cookies that come in a canister.  (You just tie your school's color of ribbon on them.)  Yum!

Our families pitched in with the rest of the items:  7 layer dip, mini sandwiches, meat and cheese rollups, etc.  I definitely needed their help and I'm so glad they were willing.

One perk to graduating in December was that my party supplies were bought in June for next to nothing.  If you're fortunate enough to graduate at a weird time of the year, keep an eye out for decorations during the previous "traditional" graduation time in the late spring/early summer.

Looking back, the mix of graduation and Christmas decorations kinda makes me giggle.

I put out little buckets of color-coordinated candy.  I found these candy sticks at Cracker Barrel (they have all of the colors!!) plus butterscotch disks and Hershey kisses with blue wrappers.

Somebody though Cleo needed in on the festivities.  Poor dog.

A few other ideas:

If you're able to, borrow the whole graduation getup from a friend who graduated from the school a term or two ahead of you.  Take fun pictures around the campus that you can use with your invitations!

Me and Willie the Ram:

Posing at the entrance of the alumni building:

The invitations I made were actually wedding invitations.  I had already had two graduations before this so I was over the traditional invitation thing.  I love how they turned out!

Have you thrown a graduation party?  Share your favorite ideas here!

Adi

You've pinned it, now make it! (food edition)

I am officially throwing down a challenge.

You and I pin stuff all the time.  We probably spend more time pinning than making, if we're honest.  Oh, sure, we go through and reorganize our boards so we won't "forget" we've pinned things but do we ever actually make half the stuff we pin?  (Be honest!)  That's about to change, at least for one lucky recipe, because it's time to make these meals happen.

What's the recipe that you find yourself accidentally pinning two or three times because the picture looks so darn tasty?  Is it a snack?  Dessert?  A casserole?  What have you been meaning to make?

I tried this recently with Chicken Potato Casserole.  You can find the original link here but I snapped some pictures along the way to show you how easy it was.  (I was out of bacon...the horror!)

 

 

I have to admit it was easy, but it would have tasted better with the bacon...and maybe some of that ranch seasoning I made recently.

Make sure you leave a comment when you make your meal so we can hear about the recipe you chose!

Adi

Make your own ranch seasoning mix

When I found out how easy this is, I felt silly for buying packets of ranch seasoning for all these years.  I bought new dried herbs and seasonings so I could make a lot.

Here's what you'll need:

-black pepper
-onion powder
-parsley flakes
-dill
-garlic powder
-dried onions or shallots

Here's the standard recipe (to make about 2 packets' worth):

Measure out 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon each of dried onions, onion powder, and garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon each of dill and parsley.  Mix it all up in a container and that's it!

How much you make depends on how much you want!  I wanted to make quite a bit so the way I went about this was to quadruple each measurement which got me through about half of each container, and then I repeated the process 1-2 measurements at a time, being careful to stay consistent with the multiplier (always doubling measurements that round, or making single measurements if I see that the herb containers are getting low).

I think it helps to lay it out like this, so you don't confuse the measurements for each item.  Now you're able to do this like an assembly line!

I keep mine in one of those nice, latching, super-airtight containers--that way, I can shake it to mix it up without being afraid the lid will pop off!

Here's what it looks like when it's ready:

Isn't that easy?  It can be used to make ranch dip for veggies, to season chicken, or even mixed in with ground beef for some flavorful burgers!  How do you use ranch seasoning?

Adi